PayPal says that one of the companies it recently acquired suffered a security incident during which an attacker appears to have accessed servers that stored information for 1.6 million customers. The victim of the security breach is TIO Networks, a Canadian company that runs a network of over 60,000 utility and bills payment kiosks across North America. PayPal acquired TIO Networks this past July for $238 million in cash.

PayPal reportedly suspended the operations of TIO’s network on November 10th. Though we are only finding out about this hack a month later via a press release. That’s a bit of a #fail. As always, affected customers will be notified and the usual free credit monitoring is being offered. But you have to wonder what it will take to make companies do more to protect themselves from pwnage?

Ahead of the peak holiday shopping season, new research from Angus Reid commissioned by PayPal, reveals that Canadians will spend more than $2.5 billion using their mobile devices to shop for holiday gifts this year. In the third quarter of this fiscal year, more than 35 per cent of the transactions that PayPal processed globally, originated from a mobile device. The company expects to see a surge in mobile commerce in Canada over the holidays.

Canadian mobile shoppers plan to spend more than $200 on holiday gifts purchasing directly from their mobile device which is fairly close to the $275 which they plan to spend on buying gifts from a physical retail store. Many say they would use their mobile device to find and compare prices (62%) and research products (60%).

The latest holiday shopping trend is social commerce which is the act of people buying or selling directly from social media platforms. Survey data shows that one fourth of Canadians who own mobile devices plan to purchase a gift directly through an advertisement which pops up on their social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Of these shoppers, Millennials are more likely to drive social commerce (37%), followed by Gen X’ers (23%) and Baby Boomers (12%).

Mobile drives convenience and supports remote buying

Holiday shopping from mobile devices appears to be a preferred choice for those who live in Atlantic Canada. Four out of five Canadians in the Atlantic provinces plan to check off their gift-list by shopping from their mobile device because it offers more flexibility and helps them avoid long checkout lines, holiday crowds and parking hassles.

When it comes to gift giving, about one third (31 per cent) of Manitobans and Saskatchewanians plan to purchase clothing, shoes, and accessories with their mobile device. Quebecers, on the other hand, are preparing to gift experiences, with 21 per cent intending to purchase event or movie tickets from their mobile devices. A quarter of tech-savvy Ontarians look to gift the latest gadgets and devices, while 13 per cent of Albertans plan to put sports equipment and apparel under the tree – all through mobile purchases.

Finding the best deals

While holiday spending can quickly escalate, Canadians plan to capitalize on early sales. About one-third (29 per cent) of mobile shoppers plan to do their Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping with a mobile device. Items at the top of the shopping list include clothing, shoes and accessories, followed by tech gadgets and devices.

Gender shopping differences

Both men and women will use their mobile device to shop this year, though the survey found distinct differences in how they will make their purchases. Women estimate to spend more on mobile shopping for the holidays – an average of $200 compared to $167, which is the average men expect to spend. More men (64%) said a mobile device is their preferred shopping method for the holidays compared to 51 percent of women who are likely to use their mobile device to shop. More than one-fourth of male Canadians will buy a tech gift or gadget with their mobile device, while only 14 per cent of women will do the same.

Mobile shopping drivers

Mobile devices enable consumers to easily compare prices and inventory and avoid the holiday shopping frenzy at malls. Better variety and gift items in stock are key motivators driving this preference. Additionally, research found that mobile shoppers would be more likely to use a mobile device to shop if there were special coupons or promotions (51%) and if their financial information was safe (41%).

Study methodology

An online (omnibus) survey was conducted through the Angus Reid Forum panel (facilitated by MARU/Matchbox). The omnibus was in field between October 13-18, 2017, and surveyed 1,544 Canadians aged 18+ (including 1,044 mobile shoppers).Results were broken out by region, age, gender, income, and education for demographic comparisons. The estimated margin of error for the total sample is +/- 2.5 per cent.

An emerging form of entrepreneurship is making waves in the Canadian economy, according to new research from PayPal Canada and Barraza & Associates. It is estimated that 2.5 million Canadians, or about nine per cent of the adult population, have embraced a “5-to-9’er” lifestyle turning their passions into profitable side-businesses in addition to working a fulltime job.

This community of makers, creators, freelancers and service providers has gained notable traction in Canada. In fact, half of Canadian 5-to-9’ers started their business in the last three years. In the past 12 months, this small but mighty community reported combined median revenues of $2.5 billion dollars.

Canada’s 5-to-9’ers are online savvy and keen to grow

Young and driven to evolve, Canada’s 5-to-9’ers are eager to turn their part-time endeavors into a primary source of income. The research shows that these emerging entrepreneurs employ e-commerce tools to reach their vision of success. Their e-commerce arsenal includes extensive use of online marketplaces and social media networks, demonstrating 5-to-9’ers deep appreciation of the digital economy. From age to attitude towards selling online, Canada’s enterprising 5-to-9’ers differ greatly from traditional Canadian small business owners.

More than half (54%) of 5-to-9’ers surveyed have seriously considered making their part-time business into a full time career. More than a third (38%) are actively testing out the idea of becoming a full time entrepreneur, using this time in their small business journey as a launch pad.

5-to-9’ers are selling where Canadians are shopping – online. Over a third (32%) of 5-to-9’ers accept online payments for their goods and services leveraging a variety of e-commerce tools, like online marketplaces (59%) and social networking sites (52%). Turning the lens on traditional small businesses, less than a quarter accept payments online.

The 5-to-9’er community skews younger compared to traditional small business owners. In some cases, there is a 30-year differential. More than half of 5-to-9’ers (54%) are between the ages of 25 and 44 years-old, which could explain why they are more comfortable using digital technology.

Despite their drive and determination, there are some barriers holding this community back from transitioning to full time small business owners. Limited access to start-up capital is the main (58%) hurdle identified by this group.

Women are paving the way, yet disparity persists

Women are dominating the 5-to-9’er landscape, representing 66 per cent of the community in Canada. Not only are women propelling this trend, the study revealed that they are more seriously considering fulltime small business ownership, compared to their male counterparts. While it is encouraging to see women taking a leading role in shaping the 5-to-9’er landscape, female 5-to-9’ers reported significantly less revenue than their male peers.

Female 5-to-9’ers want to take their passion projects to the next level. Compared to men in this segment, the research shows that women are more actively testing the viability of full time small business ownership (38%), and are more likely to transition to full time small business ownership within the next three years (47%).

There is a striking difference in reported revenue between men and women. Female 5-to-9’ers reported earning 71 per cent less average revenue compared to male 5-to-9’ers. A perpetuating pay gap could potentially hold women back from reaching their small business growth goals.

Notably, 12 per cent of women started their side business while on maternity leave. Women may be leveraging maternity leave as an opportunity to explore becoming entrepreneurs while simultaneously bringing in additional household income.

Overall, the research points to a growing, thriving community that has organically formed by leveraging tools like e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces, freelance software and smartphone apps to find success. While small businesses tend to earn significant focus in Canada, the 5-to-9 community is a rising segment of Canada’s economy that has tremendous potential to succeed if nurtured.

From big summer trips with friends to group dinners and patio afternoons, summer brings us together. As get-togethers pile up, Canadians are focused on fun and making memories. But who picks up the tab?

Today, Skype users in 22 countries including Canada can now send money with PayPal directly through the Skype mobile app. With over one billion Skype downloads to date globally, people can now seamlessly send money in the moment so nobody has the lingering worry that comes with an outstanding IOU.

PayPal Canada and Canada Post today announced a new integrated payment and shipping solution for solopreneurs, small businesses and casual sellers. This integration aims to make e-commerce more easily accessible for entrepreneurs and small businesses including 83 per cent of Canadian small and mid-sizes businesses that currently do not sell online.

Before the launch of this solution, sellers would receive orders, often write the labels manually and then visit a Canada Post retail outlet to ship the parcels. With this new integrated payment and shipping solution, online sellers can track their orders, print shipping labels and pay for shipping seamlessly using their PayPal account. This new functionality automatically sends tracking information and delivery confirmation alerts to both the seller and the customer once a shipping label is created. For small businesses, the days of tracking orders in their PayPal account and subsequently visiting a physical Canada Post location to fulfill customer orders are over. With this new solution, users can schedule a parcel pick-up from Canada Post thereby saving time to drop off parcels to customers locally or internationally.

Sellers can easily link their PayPal and Canada Post Solutions for Small Business account and be eligible to receive significant savings on domestic and international shipments. Until July 31, 2017, eligible businesses can save an additional 15 per cent on Expedited Parcel when shipping within Canada.

More information about the service can be found at:www.paypal.ca/canadapost. If however, you’d like to see a video of the solution, here you go:

Canadian small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) are leaving money on the table, reveals an in-depth study commissioned by PayPal Canada. PayPal’s Canadian SMB Landscape Study highlights that less than only one in five (17%) Canadian small businesses are using payment tools such as electronic invoicing, an online marketplace, or an e-commerce enabled website.

Canadian e-commerce spending is forecasted to reach $42 billion by 2018 and globally this figure is expected to hit $27 trillion by 2020.1 PayPal’s study indicates that Canadian small businesses are not harnessing the power of e-commerce to sell where their customers are shopping – 80 per cent of Canadians shopped online in 2015 2 – and it shows up on their bottom line. Businesses that accept online payments as a complement to their offline revenue stream reported an average revenue of $175,000, which is more than double businesses that operate without online payment capabilities ($80,000). Businesses that only accept payments online reported an average revenue of $150,000.

Low e-commerce usage and appetite among Canadian SMBs

A significant majority of Canadian SMBs are not ready to participate let alone compete in the digital economy. The study shows that 83 per cent of Canadian SMBs do not accept any form of online or mobile payment and 71 per cent of this group said they would never consider selling online.

One of the first steps towards embracing e-commerce is building an online presence, such as a website. Today, only 7 per cent of the Canadian SMBs surveyed have a website capable of processing online payments and 34 per cent of businesses that do not currently accept online payments have no foreseeable plans to build a website at all.

What’s holding e-commerce back in Canada?

Canadian SMBs that do not currently sell online report several concerns that keep them from doing so. Chief among them is concern about providing the same level of service (30%), followed by online fraud (21%), limited understanding of technology (19%), and distribution or delivery issues (19%). Nearly three quarters (72%) of offline businesses claimed that they are notparticularly sophisticated in terms of technology and e-marketing knowledge.

Canadian SMB owners are primarily men above the age of 55

The geographic distribution of Canadian SMB across Canada is fairly even, according to study findings. The majority (67%) of Canadian small business owners are men and 63 per cent are 55 years of age or older. However, these numbers shift dramatically when looking at e-commerce enabled businesses – 77 per cent of SMB owners that accept payments through online and offline channels and 66 per cent of businesses that only accept online payments are under 55 years of age. Multi-channel businesses are the youngest group, with a median age of 44. There is also a significant under representation of women SMB owners. Only one third (33%) of Canadian small businesses are owned by women, and this is consistent across businesses that sell online and those that do not.

PayPal Canada’s Canadian Landscape Study Methodology

Findings are based on a PayPal-commissioned study which was led, designed and managed by Barraza & Associates, with execution and reporting by Northstar Research Partners. This study was conducted between December 10th, 2015, and January 10th 2016, on behalf of PayPal. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadian small business owners were interviewed online. 3% is the margin of error tested at the 95% confidence level.